Sister team makes waves in world of business coaching, development

As a corporate human resources executive with ties to many businesses in the local community, Jeanne Allen says she felt like the pied piper. Business owners called her left and right asking for guidance on how to do the right thing at their organizations.

After graduating from Nazareth College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Allen spent most of her career in human resources in the corporate setting. She got her foundation in the field through working at Wegmans Food Markets Inc. and HR Works Inc., back when the company was in its infancy. She went on to spend a decade working in the family business, Allen Associates Inc., where her husband, John Allen, is president.

Allen was the director of human resources at 5LINX when she felt tugged to go out on her own. She notes that she left the company on good terms and that executives there were supportive of her decision to start her own business.

In 2012, Allen launched Leadership Logic LLC at 60 Saginaw Drive, offering customized leadership coaching and development programs to business executives.

“I started my company based on what I learned in my HR career, and I transferred that to my business. A lot of companies had been reaching out for help, so I wanted to be able to help even more,” says Allen.

Sarah Marche, who is Allen’s younger sister by 18 years, joined Leadership Logic in 2017 as vice president.

“Sarah joined and brought a whole new level to the company. She brought strategic thinking, strategic planning and a great energy.”

Similar to Allen, Marche built a career in human resources. She is a Skidmore College graduate, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in psychology. She went on to get an MBA from the University at Buffalo.
“We had always talked about Sarah joining me, and I have a soft spot for family-owned businesses being that we grew up on a family farm and my husband has a family-owned business, and now we do, too,” says Allen. “When Sarah joined me I thought I had it all figured out, but Sarah said she thought we should do a strategic plan. I said, ‘Here’s the plan: Dance as fast as you can and make as much money as possible.’”

It took some convincing, but Marche made Allen a believer in strategic planning. Together they developed objectives and measures, which they review together on a weekly basis to ensure the business is moving forward.

Their goal with Leadership Logic is simple, but not easy: They aim to improve the world of work one leader at a time.

“If Sarah and I could work ourselves out of a job, we would because that would mean everybody would be happy going to work,” says Allen. “That’s what we want.”

The duo typically works with corporate clients offering executive coaching, succession planning and strategic planning. They don’t believe in a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach. Allen and Marche emphasize building trust with their clients and creating a unique plan of action.

“We don’t go into working with a client like a steam train,” says Marche. “We go in and partner with them, we look for what the real problems are—not necessarily what they think the problems are—and we partner on real solutions.”

The two help companies in transition that are preparing for a transfer of reins, and Allen and Marche step in to make sure the next generation of leaders are prepared with the right skill-set and know-how when it comes to handling difficult situations.

Marche and Allen work with clients around New York State, from eight-person to 800-person companies. Approximately 75 percent of their client roster is in Western New York, and their strategic plan involves continued expansion throughout the state. They currently partner with nearly 40 clients in industries ranging from engineering and manufacturing to law firms, insurance agencies and marketing firms.

They are excited to roll out their latest offering, Strategy Made Simple, starting on Jan. 1. Strategy Made Simple broadens their demographic as it’s geared toward helping solopreneurs, freelancers and microbusinesses develop a clear mission and vision with objectives and metrics to measure growth.

Strategy Made Simple “speaks to how Sarah made a believer out of me when it comes to strategic planning,” says Allen. “We realized that solopreneurs and freelancers and microbusinesses are an underserved population that we want to help.”

The Leadership Logic team recently collaborated with Michelle Wescott of Gillespie Associates on a New York State Anti-Sexual Harassment training program. Gillespie does online learning and Marche and Allen are the HR experts, so the collaboration made perfect sense on this product.

“The passion around this training is that a lot of companies just want to check a box, but we know that sexual harassment is a huge problem. The #MeToo movement wasn’t an accident,” says Marche. “We didn’t want the sexual harassment training of yesterday…We wanted to push the envelope and create training that would actually spark change.”

Allen says that feedback on the program has been overwhelmingly positive. What gives the training a leg up is that it incorporates real scenarios involving pending cases throughout New York State.

Their goal with Leadership Logic is to be “a go-to partner for companies on the cusp of change,” says Marche. The company has been 100 percent referral-based from day one, and they plan to continue that way.
Daughters of aging parents, Allen and Marche aren’t just business partners.

“Sarah has young kids and I have a new grandchild, so we partner in everything,” says Allen. “We will be with one of our parents at a doctor’s appointment finishing up a proposal with our laptops on our laps, or I will go to Sarah’s house to get her boys off the bus while she’s finishing up a client meeting.”

When it comes to owning a business, Allen stresses that it’s not for the faint of heart. Fear is a natural feeling for entrepreneurs, but it can’t keep a person down.

“If you are serious about starting your own business you have to keep pushing through the fear. Acknowledge that you’re afraid and keep moving forward,” says Allen. “And use your network and be a true partner for others.”

[email protected] / (585) 363-7031